To paint a complete portrait of Stephen, James Joyce uses a stream of consciousness in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man that varies in complexity as Stephen ages. As Stephen grows older, his consciousness begins to analyze and criticize the world. Although the complexity of his language increases, Stephen focuses on some topics marked by epiphanies such as sex, religion and Ireland. The narrator emulates Stephen's mind in the stages of development from the simplicity of early language to awareness in later chapters. Joyce uses a change in syntax, imagery, and choice of detail to illustrate changing consciousness over time. The opening lines of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man immediately fall into childish speech: “Once upon a time and a very good time it was that there was a cow going down the road and this cow going down the road on the way he met a nice little boy named baby tuckoo... His father told him that story: his father looked at him through a glass: he had a hairy face." The narrator's point of view seems to be directly connected to Stephen. The choice of words “moocow”, “nicens” and “tuckoo”, the syntax used and the lack of coherent thought show the childishness and primitiveness of Stephen at this age The narrator also includes observations that the child's mind would notice, such as the “hairy face” of his father. The first epiphany also appears with the “moo”. The cow is the image of the loving nature of Ireland. Stephen refers to the presence of the moo cow as a “very beautiful moment” as a child. This alludes to his positive feelings towards Ireland. The image of Ireland as a nurturing homeland is contrasted with the repression of religion in another series of epiphanies. ...... middle of paper ...... the session is always on Stephen's mind. As he observes the flight of the bird above him, his artistic consciousness shows its maturation. "What birds were they?" Stephen wonders as he begins to artistically analyze them and the actions. “He observed their flight; bird after bird... They flew up and down but always round and round in straight and curved lines and always flew from left to right, circling around an air temple. Stephen's mind captures the details and designs the path. The artist Stephen creates a metaphor to represent how he sees movement, “circling around an air temple”. His mind has matured from simple details to complex retelling. This continues with the cries of the birds. “Their cry….like threads of silky light unwound from whirring spools.” Stephen's artistic mind uses a simile to describe their cries; illustrating how he has consciousness